The International Exhibition of 1862, or Great London Exposition, was a

world's fair A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...

. It was held from 1 May to 1 November 1862, beside the gardens of the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nor ...

South Kensington South Kensington, nicknamed Little Paris, is a district just west of Central London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Historically it settled on part of the scattered Middlesex village of Brompton. Its name was supplanted with ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, England, on a site that now houses museums including the

Natural History Museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleontology, climatology, and more. ...

and the

Science Museum A science museum is a museum devoted primarily to science. Older science museums tended to concentrate on static displays of objects related to natural history, paleontology, geology, industry and industrial machinery, etc. Modern trends in ...

Organisation

The exposition was sponsored by the Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures and Trade, and featured over 28,000 exhibitors from 36 countries, representing a wide range of industry, technology, and the arts.

William Sterndale Bennett Sir William Sterndale Bennett (13 April 18161 February 1875) was an English composer, pianist, conductor and music educator. At the age of ten Bennett was admitted to the London Royal Academy of Music (RAM), where he remained for ten years. B ...

composed music for the opening ceremony. All told, it attracted about 6.1 million visitors. Receipts (£459,632) were slightly above cost (£458,842), leaving a total profit of £790. It was held in

, London, on a site now occupied by the Natural History Museum. The buildings, which occupied 21 acres, were designed by Captain Francis Fowke of the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is head ...

, and built by Lucas Brothers and Sir John Kelk. They were intended to be permanent, and were constructed in an un-ornamented style with the intention of adding decoration in later years as funds allowed. Much of the construction was of cast-iron, 12,000 tons worth, though façades were brick. Picture galleries occupied three sides of a rectangle on the south side of the site; the largest, with a frontage on the Cromwell Road was 1150 feet long, 50 feet high and 50 feet wide, with a grand triple-arched entrance. Fowke paid particular attention to lighting pictures in a way that would eliminate glare. Behind the picture galleries were the "Industrial Buildings" . These were composed of "naves" and "transepts", lit by tall

clerestories In architecture, a clerestory ( ; , also clearstory, clearstorey, or overstorey) is a high section of wall that contains windows above eye level. Its purpose is to admit light, fresh air, or both. Historically, ''clerestory'' denoted an upper l ...

, with the spaces in the angles between them filled by glass-roofed courts. Above the brick entrances on the east and west fronts were two great glass domes, each 150 feet wide and 260 feet high - at that time the largest domes ever built. The timber-framed "Machinery Galleries", the only parts of the structure intended to be temporary, stretched further north along Prince Consort Road. The opening took place on 1 May 1862.

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...

, still in mourning for her consort Prince Albert did not attend, instead her cousin the

Duke of Cambridge Duke of Cambridge, one of several current royal dukedoms in the United Kingdom , is a hereditary title of specific rank of nobility in the British royal family. The title (named after the city of Cambridge in England) is heritable by male de ...

presided from a throne sited beneath the western dome. An opening address was delivered by the Earl Granville, chairman of Her Majesty's Commissioners, the group responsible for the organisation of the event.The Exhibition Building of 1862
in Survey of London: Volume 38, South Kensington Museums Area, ed. F H W Sheppard (London, 1975), pp. 137-147 , Retrieved 15 February 2016 An official closing ceremony took place on 1 November 1862, but the exhibition remained open to the public until 15 November 1862. Over six million people attended. Parliament declined the Government's wish to purchase the building and the materials were sold and used for the construction of

Alexandra Palace Alexandra Palace is a Grade II listed entertainment and sports venue in London, situated between Wood Green and Muswell Hill in the London Borough of Haringey. It is built on the site of Tottenham Wood and the later Tottenham Wood Farm. Origi ...

Exhibitions

The exhibition was a showcase of the advances made in the

industrial revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

, especially in the decade since the first

Great Exhibition of 1851 The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition (in reference to the temporary structure in which it was held), was an international exhibition which took pl ...

. Among the items on display were; the electric telegraph, submarine cables, the first plastic, Parkesine , machine tools, looms and precision instruments. 1862 expo

Exhibits included such large pieces of machinery as parts of

Charles Babbage Charles Babbage (; 26 December 1791 – 18 October 1871) was an English polymath. A mathematician, philosopher, inventor and mechanical engineer, Babbage originated the concept of a digital programmable computer. Babbage is considered ...

analytical engine The Analytical Engine was a proposed mechanical general-purpose computer designed by English mathematician and computer pioneer Charles Babbage. It was first described in 1837 as the successor to Babbage's difference engine, which was a desig ...

cotton mill A cotton mill is a building that houses spinning or weaving machinery for the production of yarn or cloth from cotton, an important product during the Industrial Revolution in the development of the factory system. Although some were driven b ...

s, and maritime engines made by the firms of

Henry Maudslay Henry Maudslay ( pronunciation and spelling) (22 August 1771 – 14 February 1831) was an English machine tool innovator, tool and die maker, and inventor. He is considered a founding father of machine tool technology. His inventions were ...

and

Humphrys, Tennant and Dykes Humphrys, Tennant and Dykes (later named Humphrys, Tennant and Co.) was a British engineering company based in Deptford, London, England. History The company was founded in 1852 by Edward Humphrys, formerly chief engineer of Woolwich Dockyard, ...

. There was also a range of smaller goods including fabrics, rugs, sculptures, furniture, plates, porcelain, silver and glass wares, and wallpaper. The manufacture of ice by an early

refrigerator A refrigerator, colloquially fridge, is a commercial and home appliance consisting of a thermally insulated compartment and a heat pump (mechanical, electronic or chemical) that transfers heat from its inside to its external environment so th ...

caused a sensation. The work shown by

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was a British textile designer, poet, artist, novelist, architectural conservationist, printer, translator and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts Movement. He w ...

's decorative arts firm of Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. attracted much notice. The exposition also introduced the use of caoutchouc for

rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Thailand, Malaysia, and ...

production and the Bessemer process for steel manufacture. Benjamin Simpson showed photos from the Indian subcontinent. LNWR engine No

William England William England (died 1896) was a successful Victorian photographer specialising in stereoscopic photographs. Life Sources disagree on his date of birth, with dates from 1816 to 1830 quoted by different authors. In the 1840s England ran a London ...

led a team of stereoscopic photographers, which included William Russell Sedgfield and Stephen Thompson, to produce a series of 350 stereo views of the exhibition for the London Stereoscopic Company. The images were made using the new collodion wet plate process which allowed exposure times of only a few seconds. These images provide a vivid three-dimensional record of the exhibition. They were on sale to the public in boxed sets and were delivered to the Queen by messenger so that she could experience the exhibition from her seclusion in mourning. The

London and North Western Railway The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the L&NWR was the largest joint stock company in the United Kingdom. In 1923, it became a constituent of the Lo ...

exhibited one of their express passenger locomotives, No. 531 ''Lady of the Lake''. A sister locomotive, No. 229 ''Watt'' had famously carried

Trent Affair The ''Trent'' Affair was a diplomatic incident in 1861 during the American Civil War that threatened a war between the United States and Great Britain. The U.S. Navy captured two Confederate envoys from a British Royal Mail steamer; the Brit ...

despatches earlier that year, but the ''Lady of the Lake'' (which won a bronze medal at the exhibition) was so popular that the entire class of locomotive became known as ''Ladies of the Lake''. The manufacturing Lilleshall Company exhibited a

2-2-2 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-2-2 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, two powered driving wheels on one axle, and two trailing wheels on one axle. The wheel arrangemen ...

express passenger locomotive. There was an extensive art gallery designed to allow an even light without reflection on the pictures. The exhibition also included an international chess tournament, the London 1862 chess tournament. A large tiger skin, shot in 1860 by Colonel Charles Reid, was exhibited here. The skin was mounted by Edwin H. Ward and subsequently became "The Leeds Tiger", still on display at Leeds City Museum, UK.

Music

Unlike the

Great Exhibition The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition (in reference to the temporary structure in which it was held), was an international exhibition which took pl ...

of 1851, the

Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...

chose to have a distinctive musical component to the exhibition of 1862.

Music critic '' The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of mu ...

Henry Chorley was selected as advisor and recommended commissioning works by

Giacomo Meyerbeer Giacomo Meyerbeer (born Jakob Liebmann Beer; 5 September 1791 – 2 May 1864) was a German opera composer, "the most frequently performed opera composer during the nineteenth century, linking Mozart and Wagner". With his 1831 opera '' Robert le ...

, Daniel Auber, and

Gioacchino Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards ...

. Being in his retirement, Rossini declined, so the Society asked

Giuseppe Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...

, who eventually accepted.Verdi, Giuseppe. ''Hymns = Inni.'' Robert Montemorra Marvin, ed., The Works of Giuseppe Verdi, series 4, volume 1, Chicago and Milan: University of Chicago and Ricordi, 2007.

wrote his ''Ode Written Expressly for the Opening of the International Exhibition'' (upon a text by

Alfred, Lord Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of his ...

), Meyerbeer wrote his ''Fest-Ouvertüre im Marschstil'', and Auber wrote his ''Grand triumphal march''. These three works premiered at the opening of the exhibition on 1 May 1862, with the orchestra led by conductor

Prosper Sainton Prosper Philippe Catherine Sainton (5 June 1813 – 17 October 1890) was a French violinist. Life Sainton was the son of a merchant at Toulouse, where he was born. He entered the Paris Conservatoire under François Antoine Habeneck in 1831 ...

. Controversies involving Verdi's contribution, the cantata '' Inno delle nazioni'', prevented the work from being included in the inaugural concert. It was first performed on 24 May 1862 at

Her Majesty's Theatre Her Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre situated on Haymarket in the City of Westminster, London. The present building was designed by Charles J. Phipps and was constructed in 1897 for actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who established t ...

in a concert organized by

James Henry Mapleson James Henry Mapleson (Colonel Mapleson) (4 May 1830 – 14 November 1901) was an English opera impresario, a leading figure in the development of opera production, and of the careers of singers, in London and New York in the mid-19th century. Born ...

. At another concert, the French pianist and composer

Georges Pfeiffer Georges Jean Pfeiffer (12 December 1835 – 14 February 1908) was a French composer, pianist, and music critic. He was a much sought-after chamber music partner in the second half of the nineteenth century in Paris. Life Pfeiffer was born in Ver ...

created his Second Piano Concerto.Antonio Baldassarre: "Pfeiffer, Georges Jean", in: ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart (MGG)'', biographical part, vol. 13 (Kassel: Bärenreiter, 2005), c. 462. The pianist

Ernst Pauer Ernst Pauer (21 December 1826 – 5 May 1905) was an Austrian pianist, composer and educator. Biography Pauer formed a direct link with great Viennese traditions: he was born in Vienna, his mother was a member of the famous Streicher family ...

performed daily piano recitals on the stage under the western dome.

Accident

At the opening of the exhibition on 1 May 1862, one of the attending Members of the British Parliament, 70-year-old Robert Aglionby Slaney, fell onto the ground through a gap between floorboards on a platform. He carried on with his visit despite an injured leg, but died from

gangrene Gangrene is a type of tissue death caused by a lack of blood supply. Symptoms may include a change in skin color to red or black, numbness, swelling, pain, skin breakdown, and coolness. The feet and hands are most commonly affected. If the gan ...

that set in on the 19th.Slaney was MP for Shrewsbury.

Gallery

File:DV307 no.48 Foreigners over for the great exhibition 1862.png, ''Foreigners over for the great exhibition''. A satirical sketch by Frances Elizabeth Wynne File:1862 international exhibition 03.jpg, 1862 international exhibition, western elevation view. File:1862 international exhibition 02.jpg, Penny Guide to the exhibition. File:Ross Fountain, Princes Street Gardens.JPG, The Ross Fountain in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, manufactured in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

, was an exhibit at the Great London Exposition. File:Hubert fountain 2.jpg, The Hubert Fountain in Victoria Park,

Ashford Ashford may refer to: Places Australia *Ashford, New South Wales *Ashford, South Australia *Electoral district of Ashford, South Australia Ireland *Ashford, County Wicklow *Ashford Castle, County Galway United Kingdom *Ashford, Kent, a town **B ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, was an exhibit at the International Exhibition. File:Old Mrs Jamborough. Punch, 14 June 1862.png, Old Mrs Jamborough. Punch, 14 June 1862, satirising the fashion for

crinoline A crinoline is a stiff or structured petticoat designed to hold out a woman's skirt, popular at various times since the mid-19th century. Originally, crinoline described a stiff fabric made of horsehair ("crin") and cotton or linen which w ...

s popular at the time of the exhibition. File:Farcot and Carrier-Belleuse Conical Mystery Clock.jpg, Sculpture of

Urania Urania ( ; grc, , Ouranía; modern Greek shortened name ''Ránia''; meaning "heavenly" or "of heaven") was, in Greek mythology, the muse of astronomy, and in later times, of Christian poetry. Urania is the goddess of astronomy and stars, ...

by Carrier-Belleuse atop conical mystery clock by Eugène Farcot. Made for Great London Exhibition of 1862 File:Taplin Lincoln Traction Engine.png, 16 Horsepower traction engine exhibited by Taplin of Lincoln File:Japanese ambassadors in London.jpg, The members of the

First Japanese Embassy to Europe (1862) The First Japanese Embassy to Europe (Japanese:第１回遣欧使節, also 開市開港延期交渉使節団) was sent to Europe by the Tokugawa shogunate in 1862. The head of the mission was Takenouchi Yasunori, governor of Shimotsuke Provinc ...

visiting the 1862 International Exhibition.

References

External links

* Exhibition in 1862 - Article published by '' Once a Week''.
Official website of the BIE
*
London World Exposition 1862
Expo2000 article
Images of the 1862 International Exhibition
Science and Society Picture Library
The Exhibition Building of 1862
'' Survey of London: volume 38: South Kensington Museums Area'' (1975), pp. 137–147. {{Authority control World's fairs in London

International Exhibition A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...

Festivals established in 1862 19th century in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea